Today we’d like to introduce you to Goolam Saber.
Hi Goolam, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi! My name is Goolam Saber, I am a multifaceted visual artist and designer from Johannesburg, South Africa now living in Phoenix, Arizona.
I strongly identify as an immigrant and am proud of my South African heritage, regardless of current politics. While the big eye is on immigration, I’m focusing on the other I, integration, integration into America and what we’re integrating into.
I suppose it’s a different experience for everyone, for me, I immigrated right in time for the Coronavirus pandemic.
Growing up in Apartheid South Africa I guess I always knew my ‘racial place’ in the world. One of my earliest memories was on the day Apartheid fell, my mom borrowed a bright red convertible BMW from her boss and drove my sister and I around Johannesburg, to places I had never seen because we were never allowed to go there. Aspects like these inform my artworks and allow a window into something intimate in a time of adversity and confusion. Making art allows me to make some sort of sense of these things we couldn’t- and somewhat still can’t- control.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Moving to Phoenix, everything I owned fit in a suitcase for a woman I love. It was a new country and a new life, not knowing anyone and having to start my practice again whilst being the target of harsh immigration policies that made things really uncomfortable. Coronavirus really didn’t help the situation; it further isolated my ability to adapt or properly integrate. I started working with fellow immigrant bodega owners from Palestine, helping with the design of their menus and painting murals. All these setbacks just made my practice more adaptable and I began painting larger and larger. The first mural I put up was in collaboration with the IRC (International Rescue Committee) along side an Iraqi refugee. We painted murals throughout 19th Ave and Montebello.
On the day to day, my struggles are those of parents with young kids. I constantly struggle to meet the benchmarks of a progressing artist, like being part of residencies that could require time away from home while also juggling that my kids need to be picked up from preschool every day. Being present as a dad has been a professional sacrifice. The cost of childcare is outrageous. While my kids are so little, I don’t have the luxury of making work when ideas or inspiration hit me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I use a multitude of mediums in my practice, from digital illustrations, large scale murals, pen and ink drawings, and artists books are my ways to connect, communicate, and generate conversations. I am active in marginalized communities all over the Valley. I teach 5th grade art with the Studio Artist Program residency, paint murals in communities throughout Arizona and have an exhibition and residency coming up at The Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts opening 31 May 2025, see you there!
Recently I have been looking at cultural aspects from my upbringing that travel with me as an immigrant. The same cultural aspects that would have oppressed myself and parents in South Africa are the same items on display. Last year I had my first solo exhibition in America at Cahokia in downtown Phoenix. I called it From Here. It was aspects of home, cultural objects, and large scale drawings that told the story of migrations.
It’s a privilege that I have been able to make a living in the arts, and that I am the most proud of. But I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own. My wife holds me up and fills in every gap and need for our family.
What sets me apart is my African sense of hustle, which I try to keep intact even though I feel like being in America has made me soft. When I think about it, AI is changing everything about art, and I’m not sure it’s for the better. Sure, I love playing around with the tools, and it’s going to have many more people making “art,” but what will keep setting me apart is that I can make art with anything. I don’t need a computer, or internet, or even electricity. Have you ever heard of load shedding?
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
My life has been a combination of good luck and bad luck, but mostly hard work that could pick up and run when luck arrived. My first trip to America was on an artist fellowship, and it was on that trip I met my wife (very lucky!). My immigration process was a complete traumatic disaster, where a bad luck encounter with a customs officer ruins your entire life. I was very lucky that my green card interview was with someone who just wanted to talk to me about how funny Trevor Noah is, and I am so so lucky to have happy and healthy kids. Art is my way of making sense of my world- good and bad things- so all these moments of luck play a role in the art I’ve been making. I believe in Ubuntu, a South African Philosophy of oneness, and I hope to share that ubuntu with you.
Pricing:
- Email me for pricing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goolamsaber.art/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goolam_artist/
